Joan Belmar: Color Transparencies

A SOLO EXHIBITION OF WORK BY WASHINGTON, DC ARTIST JOAN BELMAR
May 23 - June 17, 2007
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 24, 6-9pm

The Nevin Kelly Gallery, located at 1517 U Street, NW, Washington, DC, will host a solo exhibition of works by Chilean-born, Washington, DC artist Joan Belmar from May 23 until June 17, 2007. The exhibition, titled Color Transparencies presents Belmar’s recent work in paint, acetate and Mylar. The gallery will host an opening reception with the artist on Thursday, May 24, from 6 until 9 o’clock p.m. The public is invited.

Joan Belmar is not a linear thinker. In fact, he thinks very much in circles. His work has always eschewed the notion that the straight line is a fundamental element of artistic composition. Recently, he has abandoned the strictures of the singular plane of the canvas as well.

For “Color Transparencies,” the artist has constructed works from strips of painted Mylar that he fashions into circles and curvilinear forms and mounts on-edge to a backing of paper, wood or other material. These shapes form the main compositional elements of the work. He overlays the composition with translucent sheets of frosted acetate in which he has cut out shapes that reveal the strips of Mylar beneath. He draws on portions of the acetate so that elements of the composition exist above, within and below the frosted plane. The multicolored strips show clearly where the acetate has been cut away. Where it remains, the strips appear as if through a fog. The width of the strips, sandwiched between the backing and the layer of acetate, gives the works literal depth.

Belmar is a frequent exhibitor in the Washington, DC area. He was born in 1970 outside Santiago, Chile. He received a degree in graphic design at the Catholic University of Chile before moving to Spain at the age of 24. There, he adopted the Catalan “Joan” for his first name (Juan or John). He came to Washington, D.C. in 1999 and in 2003 was granted permanent residency in the U.S. based on extraordinary artistic merit. His work is included in the permanent collection of DC’s John Wilson Building.

Nevin Kelly Gallery
1517 U Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: 202-232-3464
www.nevinkellygallery.com
and http://nevinkellygallery.blogspot.com/